TFP 7: From the Ashes
by Karra Greenfield
Summary: TFP AU: In the aftermath of the destruction of the Autobot base will Elita-One be able to lead both Autobot and human kind to victory or will the Decepticons succeed in their hostile take-over? Co-Authored with Tex MECHs.
1. Chapter 1

Ch - 1

_[Location: Outside the destroyed Autobot base]_

Elita-One was shaking from her prone sniping position, her eyes wide in shock at the smoldering, broken rock structure that had once been the Autobot's home. This was the reason she fought against Project: Damocles like she did when working for and after Colonel Bishop, a.k.a. Silas, the leader of M.E.C.H., this unnecessary destruction that the cruel Decepticons now wielded. If she did nothing else she would see that this weapon and the plans that they had for it were destroyed.

She felt her temper flare back up when two Decepticon fliers departed the Nemesis and headed down to the smoldering pit below. With a growl she focused through the scope of her sniper rifle down below, watching Megatron and Starscream gloating over their victory. Optimus Prime was in the base when it was destroyed and when Megatron became the center of her scope she found she was having trouble keeping her hand still she was so mad. As she finally calmed herself enough to where she could take the shot she heard an echo from her past, Prime's voice echoing in her head.

"_Hold."_

Elita dropped her head as she tried not to laugh and cry at the same time. Even with her sadness at the loss of a great friend and Leader, Elita realized that there were things that Prime had taught her and the others that will forever live with them. But there were some lines that Prime wouldn't cross that she knew had to. As she focused through the scope again she mumbled, "Eye for an eye."

Again Megatron came into focus, the Decepticon dictator surveying his victory with his second in command. Elita frowned as Starscream came into her line of sight. The cowardly 'Con would flee as soon as Megatron began to fall and that would leave him in charge of the Decepticons. Her best course of action would be to take Starscream out first and then quickly put Megatron down immediately after.

As she steadied herself for her shot, Prime's voice echoed in her head again. _"Hold."_

She wanted to beat her head into the rock beneath her. "Booting up cold, why? They just murdered you and further endangered _everyone_ we care about, Prime," she whispered violently. Pushing her anger to the side again, Elita focused once more through the scope just in time for Megatron and Starscream to move out of her way. Growling to herself for a moment at the missed shot, Elita suddenly grew still as something that came into focus in the wreckage behind the 'Cons caught her eye, an arm.

Lifting her head back up, the Autobot sniper looked down at the smoking remains of the base. Prime's body was down there, enough of it at least for Megatron to make a trophy out of him. "I'd give up coffee before Prime decorates the front of the Nemisis."

Giving a sweep with her eyes, she focused on the area that Wheeljack had crashed, seeing more smoke billowing up from behind the massive rock pillar as a handful of Insecticons were flying themselves over to finish the job. Aiming to take a few of them out before they reached her fellow Autobot, Elita's energon pump froze up in fear. Through her scope, on the road that winded around the pillars, was her favorite white truck. She watched as the rusty 1940 Ford veered off of the road and was heading straight towards where The Jackhammer had crashed.

"Handsome?" she had to blink a couple of times to make sure her vision was clear, but by the time she focused through her scope again the truck had disappeared behind the massive pillar of rock that Wheeljack had crashed behind.

As more Decepticon flyers screamed from the Nemesis, she focused up at them with her own optics and frowned as they flew right to the wreckage that was once the Autobot base. There was no way she would be able to get to Optimus before they found him now so she focused through her scope again. She would take out what she could before she was discovered. As Optimus' arm came back into view Elita was rather surprised to find someone had already began to dig the Autobot leader out of the rubble.

_[Location: Ruins of the Autobot base]_

Smokescreen peeked out at Megatron and Starscream, for the moment their backs to him as he made his way closer to the hand sticking out of the twisted support girders that were once a part of the base. Optimus' hand was still, sparking from the damage he had taken, which made the Elite Guardsman fearful of the worse. Looking back at Megatron as he heard the dictator issue orders for workers to sift through the rubble Smokescreen saw a glint from one of the rocky peaks. Wary of the incoming flyers, the newest Autobot adjusted the phase shifter, which he had managed to grab during the chaos of the Omega Lock's destruction, and pulled Optimus out of the rubble.

The Autobot leader groaned as he was pulled free from the twisted pile making Smokescreen wince and double check to make sure that they weren't discovered. Their luck seemed to be holding out but he wouldn't tempt it for long. There were tunnels in the stone that ran under the base that were once venting systems for missile launches that he was hoping were undamaged. Smokescreen and Optimus had just disappeared from view as the Decepticon miner drones made their way over to the pile that had just moments ago pinned the Autobot leader.

_[Location: Outside the ruins of the Autobot base]_

Elita nodded to herself as Smokescreen and Optimus disappeared. Her communicator went out when the base was destroyed, but there was also the risk that the 'Cons were tracking any radio frequency so she would not draw attention to the others by trying to call the kid's phones.

"Come on, E, think," she mumbled, "they would know to try to meet up somewhere, but where? I should try to head to Agent Fowler's base; at least there I can get mended up." Going quite as a Decepticon jet flew right over her, Elita realized that her biggest problem was getting away from the area.

_[Location: Jackhammer crash site]_

As he pulled himself free from the steering console he found him folded over Wheeljack groaned as he pulled himself as upright as he could, the pain throwing his head for a spin. Around him his ship was a smoldering pile of slag and he was pretty sure that short of a complete overhaul that it would not likely fly again.

The tearing of metal off to his right drew the Wrecker out of his pain as he focused on the paneling being peeled away. Pulling free one of his swords, Wheeljack prepared to meet the Decepticons as they came for him but paused as the golden sunset back lit a bot he never thought he'd see again in all his stellar cycles. Looking in at him, chewing on a detonator control was an old, rust-scarred, white bot.

"Well, I'll be slagged," Wheeljack mumbled.

**Author's Note: I do not own the show.**


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2

_[Location: Outside the ruins of the Autobot base]_

Elita nodded to herself as Smokescreen and Optimus disappeared. Her communicator went out when the base was destroyed, but there was also the risk that the 'Cons were tracking any radio frequency so she would not draw attention to the others by trying to call the kid's phones.

"Come on, E, think," she mumbled, "they would know to try to meet up somewhere, but where? I should try to head to Agent Fowler's base; at least there I can get mended up." Going quite as a Decepticon jet flew right over her, Elita realized that her biggest problem was getting away from the area.

_[Location: Jackhammer crash site]_

As he pulled himself free from the steering console he found him folded over Wheeljack groaned as he pulled himself as upright as he could, the pain throwing his head for a spin. Around him his ship was a smoldering pile of slag and he was pretty sure that short of a complete overhaul that it would not likely fly again.

The tearing of metal off to his right drew the Wrecker out of his pain as he focused on the paneling being peeled away. Pulling free one of his swords, Wheeljack prepared to meet the Decepticons as they came for him but paused as the golden sunset back lit a bot he never thought he'd see again in all his stellar cycles. Looking in at him, chewing on a detonator control was an old, rust-scarred, white bot.

"Well, I'll be slagged," Wheeljack mumbled.

"Most likely, if you don't move your sorry crankcase right now, wheel grinder!" replied Kup in his all-too-familiar Drill Instructor tone. "This pile of scrap will be crawling with slagging Decepticons in no time!" Kup stepped back out from the wreckage and began firing into the swarm of Insecticons and jet drones that were engaging a squadron of military jets that showed up right as the Autobot base was decimated.

"That's actually what I'm counting on, Gunny," Wheeljack grimaced through the pain as he stowed his sword and staggered to the back of the Jackhammer. "I'll only be a second." Opening the lid to one of his ordnance boxes Wheeljack activated a remote detonator on one of the grenades. After closing the lid he slid it on the floor positioning it near where the energon feed lines came from the fuel tanks to the boosters. Grabbing the other box of grenades and a few other pieces of ordnance he headed for the opening Kup had made; triggering the ships distress beacon on the way out.

Once outside the Jackhammer, Wheeljack transformed his right arm to cannon mode and started firing at the cons swarming the human military jets. "I suggest we make ourselves scarce before the real fun begins," Wheeljack told Kup as he moved strategically behind the carcass of the Jackhammer heading to the side the butte he crashed at the base of.

The two took cover around the side of the butte and watched as ten Decepticon jets swept in on the ship, transforming as they landed. The Seekers fanned out and surrounded the wreckage; transforming their hands to blasters while cautiously closing the distance to the ship. The one in charge, standing outside the extra hole that Kup made in the side suddenly stopped and ordered the others to hold position.

"Commander Starscream,"the drone began via radio,"we have arrived at the source coordinates of a distress signal. We are entering the ship to take prisoner any Autobots that may still be functioning."He then ordered the rest of the group to converge in closer to the wreckage to prevent any Autobots from escaping from hidden compartments or other areas within the rubble.

"Yes, yes, by all means bring in any prisoners you find," began Starscream's reply, "Wait, did you say ship?"

Starscream, fighting in the airborne fray, locked on two military Raptors, launched his missiles and banked hard just in time to see an enormous explosion from the direction his Seeker had radioed from; the same direction he had downed Wheeljack in. Either the Autobot had sent the distress signal and booby trapped himself with his last bits of consciousness, or he somehow managed to survive being shot down. The latter thought did little for Starscream's ego after thinking he had vanquished another Autobot. But, at least he's destroyed all his other targets so far.

Back on the ground Wheeljack and Kup watched Jackhammer burn and finished stowing the ordnance they had taken from it on themselves. "Nice of them to try to help but the humans are getting their back sides handed to them up there," Kup commented as he assessed the situation, looking for a safe, strategic withdrawal in order to figure out their next move.

"Don't sell the humans short, Kup," Wheeljack replied, "It's not just us they came to assist. It's their planet they're fighting for too. Some of them would make darn good Wreckers actually."

Kup looked at Wheeljack briefly and put his detonator back in the corner of his mouth, the red button on the end glowing indicating "ready" status. "Well no slag, gear head! I've been on this planet long enough to see even some of their most destructive wars, they're capable of great evil and great heroism; but that's not my point," the bot that started the Wreckers began, "My point is get off your surging exhaust, pick your targets carefully and let's give them some help and get to better cover!"

As the two Wreckers broke from their spot just out of view of the Jackhammer they stuck close to the side of the butte stepping out to take shots at whatever Seeker, Vehicon or Insecticon was closest or in best line of sight to their weapons. The sky above had become a massive swarm of both human fighter jets tangoing with Decepticons, but it gave plenty for the Wreckers to focus on as they began to assist the humans. It was as the humans began to take off from the fight that the 'Cons surged towards the pinned Wreckers.

Adjusting his jaw around calmly, which moved the detonator to the other side of his mouth, Kup calmly focused on the task at hand. Wheeljack heard the older mech mumbling to himself, but with the screeches of the dying Insecticons falling around him added to the ringing in his audio receptors made it difficult for him to hear what the old bot was saying. Both jerked to a rather surprised halt as several Seekers began flying right at them only to be blown apart in the sky from behind as a volley of shots began to pour from a distant butte.

Wheeljack smirked as he went back to taking out his targets, "Way to go, E."

"You mean to tell me we've got another Autobot out here?" Kup snapped between shots. His sensors were not able to pick up any other Autobot signals in the area and had been hoping that they had all evacuated from the base before it had blown.

"Elita's special," the younger Wrecker smirked, "really special. You'd like her."

"Well, we'd have to save her first now don't we?"

"Looks like she's the savin' us."

Kup focused off at the distant butte as he kept downing oncoming Decepticons. "I'm going to need you to open up another one," Wheeljack heard him say.

_[Location: Outside the ruins of the Autobot base]_

Elita-One realized that there was no way to get to the base, but as she saw the casualties the humans were taking she risked opening up a direct channel to Agent Fowler.

"Everyone except Wheeljack and I are gone. Get the troops out of here."

"_What about you?"_ he replied sharply and she heard June yell something to get his attention.

"I'll get to the base, don't worry. Get June to safety or you'll never hear the end of it from Jack… or me."

As she shut off the communications Elita knew that she only had a few moments before the Decepticons swarmed down onto her but she focused through her scope as two bots came around the distant rock formation that the Jackhammer had crashed behind. Wheeljack she recognized, but who was the old scarred white bot? As she began to take out the forces that had turned their attention away from the retreating humans and gave it full force to the two Autobot mechs on the ground after a massive explosion rocked the area.

"Jackie ain't shootin' ya so ya must be a friendly," Elita mumbled as she began to clear the attacking force from behind. "You two need to get out of here."

When what she had assumed was the old white truck she had seen driving towards where Wheeljack had crashed actually seemed to make eye contact with her she frowned. His hand signals were the same as what she had learned in the military. There was something she needed to watch for at that moment and it would happen below her. Through her scope she watched as a ground bridge portal opened up behind the two mechs in her scope, which they rushed through before it winked shut. Most of the Decepticons that had been rushing the pair ended up crashing into the butte behind the portal opening.

With a groan Elita crawled over to the edge of her hiding place and saw the portal open up in the air below her. Stowing her sniper rifle into her hand the Autobot-Human gave a grunt as she tumbled off the cliff side and fell into the ground bridge portal before everything went dark.

_[Location: Kup's Ship: the Dauntless]_

Jazz, who had returned to the ship per Kup's orders as they headed towards the strange energon beam that pierced the sky, was manning the ground bridge controls. At first he was glad to hear that Wheeljack had survived the crash, but it came across as shock, all be it a somewhat pleasant one, that there was another Autobot on the field that would need a ride home.

Right after Kup and Wheeljack stumbled through the portal Jazz shut it down and reopened one with the coordinates that Kup had radioed to him. The old battle scarred fighter had only a moment to turn around in time to catch Elita as she came flying through the ground bridge, which sent them skidding across the floor for a few meters.

"She sure does know how to make an entrance," Jazz replied after powering down the ground bridge. Using it at the moment was risking bringing the Decepticons right to them and right now they needed the time to regroup with the others.

Elita managed to roll off of the 'Bot that caught her and watched him gain his feet as her head felt swimmy. She must have lost quite a bit of energon from her previous encounter with the Vehicons. They all seemed frozen in place as they looked each other over for a moment before Elita managed to break the silence.

"You've lied to me all these years, Handsome," she quipped up at the bot standing over her, not quite ready to gain her own feet.

Behind him Wheeljack snorted a laugh before groaning in pain as he grabbed a hold of his side. "Handsome? E, ya need to get Doc to check your optics out the next time you see him."

"The lady is entitled to her own opinion, wheelgrinder," Kup grumbled as Jazz walked over to the other Wrecker to guide him to the medical bay. As the pair left, Wheeljack mumbling how things hadn't seemed to have changed in the absence of the older bot, Kup gave Elita-One a slight smirk as he offered her a hand. "You look like you could use a hand."

Not quite sure if her dizzy spell had passed yet, but knowing she couldn't just stay sitting in the floor how she was, Elita reached up and let the mech before her pull her to her feet. She stumbled a bit before the fresh wash of dizziness passed enough for her to walk, but Kup gently held onto her arm as he walked her to the med bay.

_[Location: Beneath the ruins of the Autobot base]_

When Optimus Prime groaned as he was being pulled into the cavern Smokescreen winced reflexively, but the pain was unavoidable. The Elite Guardsman was determined to get his mentor to safety. Finding a little alcove in the rock the smaller bot tucked the severely damaged leader into the safety of the little shelter. It seemed, once settled, that Prime was able to begin to rest; so Smokescreen found a boulder to sit on as he kept watch for both possible discovery from Decepticons, as well as any downturn in his friend.

He had not really seen heavy battle, but Smokescreen had come across a body or two in his time. The images of those unfortunate Cybertronians were forever saved in his data-banks and unfortunately the mech before him looked even worse than he could ever recall a Cybertronian corpse being. That thought alone sent a chill through his frame.

In the time Smokescreen sat watch, the Elite Guardsman knew that he would have to make a few runs up to the surface to check on both the Decepticons' sweep of the base's ruins and for anything that he could use to at least keep Optimus alive until he could find Ratchet. Though never have been trained in the medicinal arts Smokescreen had basic field first aid training and knew that he had better act quickly or risk losing the last Prime.

_[Location: In the ruins of the Autobot base]_

Megatron paced as he waited as patiently as he could for his workers to uncover anything of worth in the decimated ruins that the Autobots once called home. The Decepticon leader was quite upset over watching as at least three Autobots had escaped from his troops, Autobots that had not been inside the base at the time. He had watched as his troops failed in their mission, quite a few downed by an all too familiar sniper's pattern. Elita-One, or Ellan Greer as Cylas gladly told them in an attempt to save his life, had been hiding for too long and apparently had come out of hiding to play. She still needed to pay for her attempt to take his life as she took the artifact from him.

"Find me their bodies!" Megatron's bellow echoed around the rocks.

Starscream, having returned to his master's side once the humans had retreated, winced at just the anger in Megatron's tone alone. The drones had been working all night and had yet turned up even a limb of any casualty that had been caught in the blast. "Work faster!" he yelled at a group that were nearby, sending the drones into a flurry.

Behind the pair a group of four drones were working together to pull something shining out of a pile of twisted girders. At hearing their chatter, Megatron turned to observe them. His eyes went wide as he saw the prize they pulled free and gave a mighty leap over to them. Swatting two of the drones out of the way he stared down at their bounty. "The Forge of Solus Prime?" It did not take the Decepticon dictator long to figure out exactly how Optimus had gotten his hands on it and how he had utilized it to his advantage. If Dreadwing's spark had not already been obliterated, it would have been at that moment. "You managed to find this and have yet to bring me even a single bolt from an Autobot?!"

When Starscream attempted to get his master's attention to show what else, or at least who else, had been found he backed away a bit as Megatron growled in frustration. Apparently having Airachnid in a stasis hold would not appease the tyrant.

"They fled using their ground bridge," Megatron grumbled out as he began to stomp away from the ruins. "Have Soundwave monitor all forms of communications, including the human's networks. I want the Autobots found now!"

**Author's Note: I do not own this show.**

I can guess the possibly two things that you are thinking.

1: Why the heck has it taken so long for you to update this? Season 3 is halfway over and you've been gone too long!

2: There's quite a bit of this that doesn't flow like your own writing K.G.. What gives?

The answer to both questions is this: I am working some with my husband TechMECHs on this one which is why the writing style is different in some areas plus flu and that's why it has taken so long. Thanks for being patient with us and we'll get some more posted hopefully soon.

Also, has anyone seen Anonymous Beast Wars Fan Girl recently? I'm getting worried.


	3. Chapter 3

From the Ashes – Ch 3

_[Location: US Highway70 ]_

Driving along the lonely highway only gives one time to think and that was all Ratchet could do. How could things have gone so wrong? Almost everything was working to the Autobot's advantage: the gathering of the Omega Keys, only for Starscream to steal them right from under their very noses, Dreadwing giving them the Forge of Solus which Optimus utilized it to convert their ground bridge into a space bridge, along with the Autobots gaining the Omega Keys back from Megatron on Cybertron. It was what happened on Cybertron that sent everything spiraling out of control.

After all that was said and done, the Autobot medic could only blame himself. It was not Elita's responsibility to have retrieved the children from school. She had only been following Optimus' orders to stay in the base and could have handled communications while he had gone to bring Jack, Miko, and Rafael to safety. His rush to have Cybertron restored and the carelessness by not taking care of the three young humans that thought the world of them cost them not only their chance to return to their home planet but their own home on Earth. His actions also cost him the lives of the two bots he probably cared about the most.

He had watched Optimus Prime grow. The young Orion Pax had been inquisitive as he developed into the respectable bot that began to understudy with Alpha Trion in the Iacon Hall of Records. Even with all the knowledge he had gained, Orion was still impressionable so was it really any wonder that Megatronus had tried to mold the young Cybertronian to be into one of his lackeys? Ratchet was proud that Orion had made the choice to turn away from the path that Megatron began to lead him down and in turn Orion was deemed worthy of the title Prime. It was also his compassionate nature that made Optimus stay behind at the base while the others had fled. Ratchet knew that he should have been the one to stay behind since it was his mistakes that brought everything down around their audio receptors, but the medic knew that Optimus would not let him argue the point. The Autobot leader knew what his orders would lead to and faced the onslaught head on.

Tired of driving, the ambulance pulled into a highway rest stop and settled into a parking space. Cars, trucks, and 18-wheelers surrounded him, but all remained silent. He found no allies here. As he powered off his motor he enjoyed the relative quiet found in such places. His particular spot was facing a group of picnic tables that families and couples sat around to eat what food they had with them or had purchased from the vending machines nearby. As twilight settled in, he watched as the children ran and played, happily carrying on in their games that allowed them to stretch their little legs and burn off the abundant energy they had stored in their tiny bodies from their long car rides.

One particular human woman caught his attention as she began to chase after a couple of the young-ones. Dressed in blue jeans, sneakers, and a simple light blue t-shirt, the woman had her red hair pinned up in a slightly disheveled bun. She was laughing as she grabbed a hold of one of the smaller children, scooped it up into her arms and began to kiss the child on the cheek, much to the child's enjoyment. As he watched the woman with her child the medic felt a fresh wash of guilt.

"_I think the thing I'll miss the most is having children. I always wanted to have kids."_ He heard Elita's voice echoing in his head, a voice from the past when she first was placed in their lives. Back then he only partially understood or even cared about how she felt about the matter. Now, as he watched this woman with her tiny brood of children and seeing how happy she was as this stranger gave and received affection from the children that she cared for, he realized exactly the emotions and joy that had been robbed from Ellan Greer when her purely human life had ended.

Backing out of his spot and continuing down the road, Ratchet couldn't shake his processor free of the thoughts and realizations that swam through it. Elita-One surrogated her maternal feelings onto the children, caring for them in ways only a woman truly could. In his cold dismissal of the children he had hurt her deeply. Even if he had a chance to apologize to Elita for his unintended pain he had caused her Ratchet had no idea where to begin. If she were still alive, which was now an extremely slim chance, she would be right at the heart of where the Decepticons now called home and in more danger than he could even begin to aid her with, if she had not already been captured in the take-over.

As the miles became states, the medic came to the sad conclusion that with everything that had just gone wrong and what was possibly left of the Autobots scattered without a real plan on regrouping there was no real hope in winning this too long and bloody war. Even at his age he wasn't sure if he would be able to last through gaining attachments with others only to lose them again, or even be able to fight any longer. Deciding the best thing for everyone was for him to just disappear, Ratchet pulled over to the side of the road, the moonlight his only companion in the dark of the night.

He only became aware of someone pulling up and stopping directly in front of him in the predawn hours. As the man got out of the tow truck and began to look him over, mumbling about people just leaving vehicles all over the place. Ratchet didn't fight as the man began to hook him up to his tow truck and began to tow him away. Whatever this man had planned for him was better than what any Decepticon would do.

_[Location: US Highway 80]_

The blue motorcycle kept watch as her human rested on the ground beside her, the pair hidden amongst rows of corn stalks just off the side of the road. Jack, who had purchased the sleeping bag and pillow in one of the little towns they had passed through in the two states they had covered, had finally fallen asleep despite the worry over his mother and their friends. Arcee knew that unlike the other Autobots she was not able to safely carry a sleeping passenger and had made the suggestion that Jack should buy the supplies needed to camp out for the duration of their travels. The days were growing colder as the Fall settled in, but fortunately tonight was clear, void of rain but the possibility of frost forming was making her realize that he would need warmer clothing and possibly a better shelter if they were delayed much longer. They needed to get back to Jasper, to get back together with the team and his mother. For their own peace of mind they had to know that everyone was safe.

It was just as the first rays of dawn began to creep over the horizon that Jack's cell phone began to sound. Both beings were startled awake, Arcee's idle thought of when she actually dozed off quickly pushed aside by the panic of the threat the device posed as Jack scrambled to shut it off.

"I forgot about that," he mumbled as he pocketed the device, "Sierra had talked me into getting a daily horoscope sent to my phone."

"Pack up," Arcee ordered as she revved her engine, "and shut off your phone. We need to get moving and pray that the Decepticons didn't pick up that or it will be a horror show."

Jack had the sleeping bundle rolled and tied to the back of Arcee within the minute and his helmet secured the next. His phone was powered off and the battery removed for good measure as he settled onto the seat. Holding on tightly, Jack did as Arcee told him to and prayed as her tires hit the paved road and they headed off down the road again.

_[Location: Darkmount, NV]_

Soundwave's facial screen began to show the schematics of his scans, quickly narrowing down the location of one of the signals that he had been scanning worldwide for. Opening a ground bridge portal before him, the silent Decepticon stepped through it and walked out right in front of Megatron as the tyrant sat upon his throne, smirking privately as he flexed his returned limb. A quick read of his most trusted's face gave Megatron a dark reason to smile.

"Excellent Soundwave;" A quick turn of his head to Starscream, who was waiting just behind where the ground bridge portal had opened, he began to issue his orders, "send a squad to retrieve the Autobot and its human pet. I wish to… _speak_ with them."

"Yes, Lord Megatron," Starscream replied with a dark pleasure tone to his voice as he bowed before he transformed and shot off to follow his orders.

As the Decepticon leader sat back in his throne Soundwave's facial screen began to give another warning as the sun slowly began to crest over the horizon. Several vehicles, air born and ground units, began to crest from the rolling rock hills to the east of the citadel.

"Another show of might," Megatron smirked darkly. "Let us remind them about how lacking they really are. Power up the Fusion Cannon."

The approaching army, spanning across most of military branches, proceeded forward towards the mammoth tower looming before them. The brave men and women pushed forward, pausing for a moment as a bright green light built up in the clouds surrounding the top of the tower before the energy split them, the beam aimed right at the approaching vehicles. Any order to retreat issued over the radios had been quickly drowned out as several hundred soldiers screamed out in pain as their metallic vehicles warped and melted around them, their lost control sending several either crashing into the ground or one another. A secondary pulse from the tower sent all the vehicles in its path flying away, some for at least a mile from the epicenter of the blast.

As he watched, the humans began to drag their dead and wounded away, Megatron savored his rush of victory. If this was the best that the Earthlings had to offer then taking over the planet would be relatively simple. There were just a few things he had to plan for, mainly a strike from the Autobots.

"One more thing before you return to your duties, Soundwave," the tyrant began. "Patch me into the Earthling's communications. I wish to speak to Agent Fowler, the Autobots' human watchdog." Watching the images change on his most trusted's facial screen, Megatron smiled in victory as digital ringing gave way to a man's voice.

"_Special Agent William Fowler here."_

_[Location: Alden Military Base, Building E]_

Agent Fowler furiously worked his stress ball as he listened to the voice on his phone. He had spent hours since he and June landed back at the base trying to keep everything from escalating beyond repair, at least on the human side of things. The U.S. military general class was crying for a nuclear strike against the attacking force, their main claim that the town of Jasper, Nevada was just too vital to have fall into the hands of a foreign military due to the research and development facilities that had originated the town. Knowing what the most likely outcome of the damage from such an attack would be, both to the landscape and human casualties, Special Agent William Fowler had requested that they hold off their preemptive strike until he knew for sure that the Autobots were unable to handle the situation themselves. Apparently the higher ups either turned a deaf ear to his request or grew tired of waiting for something to happen and sent in a strike team; a strike team that ended up with only a small handful of soldiers uninjured out of the hundreds that were sent in.

Naturally there was some military aid when he had requested it at the time that the Autobot base had been destroyed, but when Elita-One had seen that the battle had been lost she gave the order for retreat. The list of casualties from both skirmishes had him apologizing to Optimus Prime in the quiet of his office for their losses, knowing that the Autobot leader would be frowning in disapproval if he was there. This last battle that the humans had directly with the Decepticons was why he was on the phone.

"_You see, Agent Fowler,"_ Megatron's calm and collected voice smoothly flowed out of the speaker of the phone on the desk, _"we are just simply refugees from a war torn world that simply seek a place to call home. We had no choice but to defend ourselves."_

_Tell that to the families of the men that lost their lives today_, Agent Fowler thought bitterly.

"_It was thanks to the Autobots that we are unable to return to our own home, so we simply wish to remain here on _peaceful_ terms with you humans. Since the desert area of your country is mostly uninhabited we figured that it would be best suited for everyone that we remain in this area. I do suggest that your military cease attacking us poor survivors of a terrible war, for the continuation of peace of course."_

"Of course," Fowler frowned as he gave the poor worn stress ball a tight squeeze as the phone call clicked to a close.

Growling as he hit the top of his desk with frustration, the Autobot liaison tried to figure out his next move and what he was going to report to his higher ups. Megatron couldn't be trusted to keep peace. Working with the Autobots for so long, listening to what had happened that began the war that put Cybertron in the condition it was now, plus seeing it first hand after Unicron had been defeated, Agent Fowler knew that Megatron's word was about as good as spitting into the wind, though the latter would be the more beneficial choice.

Dropping the stress ball in the top right drawer of his desk, Fowler sighed as he closed that drawer and opened up the one below it. This was the drawer he kept the stock pile of cookies that Elita kept baking for him. When he was not in his office he kept the drawer locked to keep the treats safe, but it wasn't for his own need to have the treat that he dug into the possibly last bit of cooking he would ever taste from the Autobot-Human hybrid. Grabbing four of the super carb cookies that seemed to be Elita's specialty he locked the drawer back, wrapped them up in some napkins he kept on hand and left his office.

Agent Fowler found June Darby working in the main part of the hanger bay that held his office. It had been turned into a triage center after the military strikes and it was where Nurse Darby had spent her time, buried in her work to keep herself from focusing over the possible loss of her son.

June was in the final stages of re-wrapping her patient's arm when he found her, smiling to keep her patient calm despite her own stress and worry. Fowler stood off to the side as he watched when Nurse Darby had left the man's bedside she was swamped with four military nurses all vying for her attention over one matter or another. Apparently June had taken over running the triage center, or was put in charge of this one if more than one had to have been opened to deal with all the wounded.

"Agent Fowler," she said as she walked closer, "we're running low on medical supplies. When will the shipment get here?"

"Hopefully within the hour," he sighed and looked around before he walked with her off to the side. "When was the last time you ate, June?"

"I don't have the time to sit down to eat, Bill," she replied, nodding to another nurse as the man came up and handed her a clipboard before returning to his duties. As she looked it over she paused as a sizeable cookie 'appeared' on top of the paperwork. "Are you trying to ruin my diet?"

"Not at all," Fowler smiled at the glare she shot him, "they're E's special cookies."

Understanding that these were probably the treats that she heard Jack talking about June took a bite, pleasantly surprised by how good they actually tasted. "Have you heard anything from them?" she asked quietly between bites, having to turn her back to the room to keep from going into tears as she began to feel helpless.

"Not a word," he replied quickly, then softened his tone as he saw her shoulders drop, "not yet at least."

"I want to call him," June cast a pleading look up at Agent Fowler, a look that made his heart ache almost as much as her own had to be.

"You can't, June, you know that. We have no idea if you-know-who would be trying to track them down that way."

"I know," she replied, dejectedly, "I just…" She had to close her eyes and take a deep breath.

"Focus here for right now," Fowler told her gently, "and know that the 'Bots are doing their best to protect the kids, I believe that with my whole heart. Besides, with the base now gone they'll most likely head here."

"I pray you're right, Bill," June looked back up at him, "I really pray you're right."

_[Location: Winding mountain roads of the Colorado Rockies]_

Bulkhead kept his driving as smooth as possible, despite some of the steep hills and turns that the road took, as Miko slept in his front passenger seat. The young lady was curled up on her side, her arms tucked in close to herself as she clutched the phone in her hands. He wouldn't say a thing about her crying herself to sleep as she looked through the pictures she had saved on her phone, especially when she would focus on too long on either the image of Jack, usually with Arcee, or Optimus.

Despite driving all night, the Wrecker knew that he still had a ways to go. Wheeljack should be meeting up with him sometime today at the coordinates that they had agreed upon, and hopefully Jackie would be bearing some good news. For Miko's sake they really could use it.

Loud yawning and the grind of the seat back being lifted back upright was the only warning that he had that Miko was awake. The usually exuberant teenager was quiet as she folded up her phone and plugged in the charging cable before she looked out the window. "Where are we?"

"Eastern Colorado," the vehicle replied, "we should be crossing into Utah before too long." At the sound of her stomach growling Bulkhead recalled that she had not had anything to eat since lunchtime the day before. "We'll stop at the nearest town so you can get something to eat."

"That's alright, Bulk," she replied sorrowfully, still looking out of the window, "I'm not hungry."

"I need you to keep your strength up, Miko. We don't know what we're going to run into and all Wreckers have to be at their best." That at least gained him a little giggle before they continued down the road in silence. "I forgot to ask, you have money right?"

"A few bucks that's suppose to be for lunch at school," Miko mumbled, then she sat up and quickly dug into one of her little pouch friends she carried on her hip. "Dude! I forgot E gave me a card to her account! She did say emergency use, or shopping for her, but this is definitely an emergency."

"Just don't go wild with it," Bulkhead reminded her with a soft laugh.

**Author's Note: I don't own this show.**


	4. Chapter 4

Ch 4

_[Location: Southern Wyoming]_

Bumblebee kept his overall worry to himself, not wishing to upset Rafael any more than his young passenger already was. The Autobot scout knew that the computer prodigy was not only worried about their companions but for his own family. It was thanks to M.E.C.H. and the Decepticons that they had to quickly move into a new house, Raf not even getting a chance to finish unpacking everything before this fell down around them. It also upset Bumblebee that he had not relayed his underlying uneasiness about how close the Decepticons had been getting to the base. They could have relocated their base of operations before they had been discovered, but that would have put them further away from Jasper and Bumblebee knew that he couldn't be that far away from his best friend. No, the custom muscle car knew that he would most likely have been discovered in Jasper even if the others had moved away.

Despite his worry, Rafael helped keep his spirits high as the young man searched through the usual conspiracy websites for any sign of their friends or news about what had happened back home.

"The news is saying that a massive meteor shower hit the area and that everyone was successfully evacuated," Raf relaxed a bit back into the front passenger seat, busy working on his laptop, "they're not letting anyone into the area until it's been deemed safe from possible radiation."

[Smart thinking on Agent Fowler's part], Bumblebee clicked and beeped through the icon on his steering wheel, [but that won't hold off all of the curious.]

"I'm sure he put military guard around the area to keep that from happening, Bee." The clicking of keys filled the air for a moment at they both sat silently. "I haven't found anything yet on the usual sites."

[Your food is getting cold, Raf,] his guardian reminded him of the drive through they had purchased in the town they had recently left, [You really need to eat.]

The two had made small stop, sitting amongst the trees until Bumblebee found a passing car he could mimic the paint job of. They had to travel through quite a bit of open territory before getting anywhere near the military base that Special Agent Fowler worked at and with all of the missions alone he ran on Cyberton Bumblebee knew that keeping a good cover was the best way to survive until they reached their destination. Chances were that Elita would be there and he wanted to get the Virus Vault out of his trunk as soon as possible. Granted it was harmless while it was powered down but just caring the thing around was enough to creep the scout out.

Pulling out the cheeseburger and fries that he had ordered, Raf munched on the food as his eyes stayed focused on the screen only for him to slowly pause as he focused on the burger in his hands.

[What's wrong?] Bee beeped, worried that the food might have been bad.

Setting the burger in its wrapper on the driver's seat Rafael began to type furiously on his computer. "I used the debit card my parents gave me to get the food. Chances are if they're really alright…" he trailed off, smiling at the screen. He had accessed his parents' checking account and let the knowledge that it was being used for a hotel in a town far from Jasper that they had most likely been evacuated to that they were fine. "They're safe."

[That's great to hear,] the Autobot beeped as he smiled to himself.

"Thanks, Bee. Hopefully they'll see my card being used and know that I'm alright, though very, very far away. I just don't know how I'm going to explain it."

[Just tell them that you had a different military transport than they did. Jack and Miko would back you up on that.]

"That's if we find Jack and Miko," Raf sounded sad again before he started working on the computer again. "I helped E set up her online account and she gave us all cards linked to it. If Jack and Miko have used the cards then we can track them, too." Accessing the account Rafael couldn't suppress his joy, or his relief. "It looks like Jack and Miko have both used their cards and are heading back towards the base."

[Four down,] Bumblebee beeped joyfully, [five to go.]

Grabbing his burger again, Raf pushed his glasses back up on his nose as he chewed the bite. The base was compromised, leaving them really without a place to gather for a counter attack on the Decepticons. The military probably didn't have many abandoned missile silos around the country that the Autobots could just move into at the drop of a hat, and being out in the open was outright dangerous.

_But Starscream didn't stay in the open when he was alone, did he?_ Rafael thought to himself as he took a drink of his soda. _He must have used the Harbinger while he was rogue._

[What's on your mind?] Bumblebee broke through his thoughts using soft clicks and beeps.

"I think I know of a place that, if not at least stay at, gather the others to. Starscream must have been using the Harbinger and if he's back with the Decepticons then we can at least use what's left."

[It's a start at least. Great thinking, Raf!]

Rafael chuckled bashfully, but smiled. "Thanks, Bee."

_[Location: Beneath the ruins of the Autobot base]_

Smokescreen surged at the slightest call from Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader was trying to move but the severe amount of damaged made even the slightest twinge excruciating. The Elite Guardsman had just returned from the surface with Elita's bathtub of things that he had managed to scrounge up. Most of the Autobots' things in the main room of the base were scrap, including Ratchet's work area, but it seemed that some of the things that Elita packed away in her room, which was a good distance from ground zero, managed to survive. Setting the tub down beside their leader, he was just hoping that there was something that he could use to help Optimus in the bunch.

Kneeling down beside Prime, Smokescreen quietly tried to calm him. "It's ok, Optimus. I'm right here." He began to dig around in the tub and managed to find a toolbox that he seen Elita pull out when working on the computers, "Maybe she has something that will help in here."

"Elita…" Optimus groaned.

"Yeah, it's Elita's toolbox," Smokescreen replied as he opened it only to have his shoulders and hopes drop. The tools were way too small for him to be able to use. With a groan Prime rolled his head to the side, closing his eyes. "Hang on," the young Autobot said as he closed the toolbox, "I'm going to see what else I can use to help you out." Adjusting the Phase Shifter Smokescreen headed back up to the surface to attempt to scavenge more supplies.

_[Location: The Dauntless]_

The overall mood was dark and quiet as repairs began on the two wounded Autobots. As Jazz began the repairs on Wheeljack, Kup began to bring out containers of prepared Energon that they all would need. Setting them down on a nearby table the Wrecker leader prepped the first of many into an injector and moved over to Elita's side.

Wheeljack scoffed a bit, humor thick in his voice, "I was closer."

"Ladies first, Wheelgrinder," the scarred bot smirked back at his subordinate before injecting the contents into her arm.

Elita smiled up at him a bit, her frame relaxing as the fresh wash of energy flowed through it. A couple more and she would be able to separate herself and find out exactly what all had been damaged on her human form. A look at a reflective surface showed no damage done to her robotic facial structure so she was sure that when her helmet shattered from hitting the Vehicon jet that was what was causing the pain. As if reading her mind Kup had pumped four more of the containers into her before he moved on.

"Sorry I don't seem to have the blend that you're bleeding out," the old Wrecker told her, "but I'm hoping this will help."

Blinking at him, she risked the pain to lean forward to examine herself. From the panels that hid her human form there seemed to be a bright magenta colored energon leaking through. Jazz looked over as well raising an optic ridge at the sight before he went back to his repairs. Wheeljack groaned as he rolled his head over at her.

"They're good bots, E," he told her with a slight wince as Jazz moved the arc wielder over a particular tender spot, "your secret is safe."

"What secret?" the current medic asked as Kup harshly grabbed Wheeljack's other arm to inject Energon into him.

With a grunt Elita sat up on the table she had been set on and moved her hands under her opening plates to let her human body step out onto. More of the bright magenta energon dripped free, pooling onto the floor below. Elita couldn't even stand up as her larger form set her on the table beside it. Sitting a bit more on her right hip with her legs curled up to her left side she tilted her head forward and slowly began to remove shards of jagged tinted plastic that was once the visor to her helmet. Counting herself lucky that none of them ended up in her eyes, the fresh wash of warm fluid running down her face as she pulled the ones that had embedded themselves into her skin did not bode well.

The mechs frowned as her already odd colored Energon stained clothing began to receive a fresh wash from under the helmet as she proceeded to cause herself pain. Frowning, Kup moved over to the medical kit he kept on hand to retrieve a pair of clippers. She was going to do more damage to herself if she tried to pull off the helm. Reaching her as her hands had moved to either side he gently placed one hand on top of her helm to stop her. Carefully he snipped away from the bottom up to the visor opening, cutting the front of the helmet off of her before letting her pull it free. Smiling hurt, but she was grateful for his assistance and the private smile he returned reminded her so much of her father.

"Thanks."

"No problem, kiddo."

"What is a human doing inside of a Cybertronian?" Jazz asked after a long moment of silence, having paused in the repairs of his friend after Elita pulled her helmet free.

"She ain't no normal human," Wheeljack answered.

Setting her helmet beside all the broken pieces, Elita's larger form pulled out a few of the bags from the shoulder compartments. The first thing she grabbed from one of the bags was a large bath towel, pressing it to her face. "We all have stories to share and repairs to make," she began, "how about we start with," she pointed to the white and blue Autobot that had gone back to repairing Wheeljack, "Jazz is it?" When he nodded to her she smiled, "and work our way around."

As Jazz began his story Elita pulled out her sewing and medical kits. Selecting a sewing needle from the sewing kit she soaked it in the bottle of alcohol from the medical kit along with a few strands of hair she pulled from her head. Her next move was to wipe down the cuts and the area around them with iodine swabs. She was going to do her own stitches on her face to sew up the cuts, having learned how to do so with both working with the emergency officials for so long added to what little bit of training she had gotten in the military when she had first started her run as a field medic, before Bishop found out about her computer skills and had her transferred.

"In a nutshell, " Jazz began after a long pause, "I'm the head of a Special Operations Team; we were infiltrating the big, bad Decep, Shockwave's, base on intel that he was developing some massive, crazy new weapon. Our ship was blown to scrap on landing so we figured he was protecting something wicked. We split into teams and entered Shockwave's base from four different points. As the teams were reconnoitering their zones Beta team was apparently overwhelmed and we lost contact with them. Blaster hacked the base's computer network and discovered an intercepted message burst package from Optimus Prime, stating that he needed all the assistance that he could get, along with spatial coordinates and other important information.

"We and the remaining teams ran into seriously stiff resistance converging on Shockwave's control room until it all went bad really fast. Red Alert from Beta was the first to reach the rendezvous point outside what we all thought was the control room. He was the only one of the group to make it to us. The other teams met up with us after trashing the cons in running firefights. All in all the resistance, while heavy was not as much as we anticipated. Perceptor picked up an energy build-up growing exponentially, apparently something in the base heading for critical overload; and probably was where most of Shock's troops were. Fortunately for us what we thought was the control room was actually the hangar; complete with Shockwave's command ship.

"Giving the impending boom, we decided to take the ship and split. After a battle with the ships guard we managed to steal his ship and get off Cybertron just in time to see Shockwave's base explode then cave in on itself. Blaster entered the coordinates into the Logikrator's nav computers and we were on our way."

Kup interrupted, "Shockwave's ship was called the _Logikrator?_ That one-eyed piston polisher always was a narcissistic little scraplet wasn't he?" Kup ended his interjection with a smirk.

Jazz just chuckled and shook his head before continuing, "Anyway, we found out from Red Alert that Beta team had been ambushed at their entry point. Inferno was apparently jumped by several cons and dragged off. Red was shot and knocked off-line when he and the team tried to recover Inferno; left for dead apparently. When he came to he made his way to us. Beachcomber and Swerve were dead, and no idea what happened to Inferno and Cliffjumper.

"The trip took over five years Earth-time to make. We used time to decode Shockwave's files, and learn all about Earth from Optimus's data package. Shock's data had a lot of seriously deranged weapons and even genetic mutation and hybridization projects. All stuff I was hoping would prove useful for Optimus to know once I hooked back up with him. Then trouble struck again. As we were approaching, just inside the orbit of the moon, our ship got hit by a whacked out huge energy blast from something in the planet's orbit, sending our ship into a freefall. After our rather colorful landing we got swarmed by humans head to toe in black armor.

"From what I learned, they called themselves M.E.C.H. and they were following some project that had been stolen from one of their bases and ended up finding us instead. My guess is that we were all taken to different bases. I know I ended up separated from the others. Kup raided the one I was in and busted me out. We were heading towards Jasper to link up with Prime and hopefully get his help to find the others. Unfortunately the initial blast to the Logikrator knocked me into stasis lock. I have no idea how many of us actually survived the crash."

As he trailed off, Elita looked over at him, the cut going over her left eyebrow stitched up. Chances were that M.E.C.H. had already taken apart the other Autobots that they had kidnapped. Looking back at the reflective surface on her larger body she focused on the cut that ran from the left side of her nose, across her cheek to her ear. "I'm sorry for your losses. For what it's worth I know of the raid you were on. I don't know anything about Inferno, but Arcee told me how Cliffjumper actually made it to Earth along with her; she was in Shockwave's base that day. The overload was Shockwave's space bridge; Starscream had captured Cliffjumper and Arcee. They escaped and set it to overload to keep Shockwave and Starcream's invasion force from reaching Earth. They went through before it went critical, apparently taking out Shockwave while in the bridge and ending up here. Cliffjumper was actually the first to run into the Decepticons once they returned to Earth. Starscream killed him; Arcee said he died fighting. At this point it's probably best to talk to Arcee for anything more specific once we all reunite. Hopefully we can reunite with your unit as well," she said.

Jazz was silent for a moment, studying Elita's two forms and debating on which to address. Only the human had spoke but both had been watching him and motioning at times during her comments. Deciding since the human told the story he would address her he finally spoke, "Thank you. Cliffjumper was my friend. I'm glad to at least know what happened. Funny how that all works. When I was Optimus' second-in-command in the early days of the war I kept trying to recruit Cliffjumper to fight with our unit. He said he was having too much fun where he was. Optimus eventually created a special ops team and promoted me to lead it. It incorporated the unit Cliffjumper was with so we ended up fighting together after all. Then _he_ ends up with Optimus here. As many props as I gave Cliff to Optimus, wish I could have seen it," Jazz just smiled to himself and went quiet.

Elita spoke again, looking at Kup, "What about you, Handsome?"

Kup glanced over at her from where he was running his scans, making sure that the Decepticons had not tracked their signal. Focusing back at his screen he went back to work. "Alpha Trion had contacted me, telling me that he had to get the relics and confiscated weapons off the planet and that he needed somebody trustworthy to keep an eye on them and out of the wrong hands."

"So you've been here the whole time, Rusty?" Wheeljack asked his old mentor with a tone of disbelief, sitting up since Jazz had finished his repairs.

"Pretty much," the old, scarred bot replied.

"We needed you."

"Couldn't blow my cover till Optimus retrieved all of the relics."

As the younger Wrecker grumbled about being ditched by the one he thought actually cared about the group, Kup started packed up her things. With a final wash of her face and neck to remove the blood and energon mix she focused back at Kup. "You found Jazz?"

"Yup, tracked his signal and busted him out since he was the closest, strongest signal."

"Can you track other Autobots?" she asked.

"Yes," Kup began, "but only if they're on-line and not shielded but wherever they are."

"I need you to search under the ruins of the old base. There's at least one Autobot alive down there and I'm praying that there are two."

"Give me a few minutes and we'll see," Kup mumbled as he walked over to one of the computer stations in the room. "Just an odd signal," the Wrecker founder stated as he turned to face the others, "but it is an Autobot one."

"Better than nothing," Elita replied as she merged with her larger form.

"Who died and make you Prime?" Wheeljack asked her, with a twinge of humor.

Elita looked over at him, focusing intently on the injured Wrecker. "Optimus, but I'm hoping it's not by death." As she got off of the table she pointed at him, "Wheeljack, I want you to man the ground bridge."

"Hey now!" he surged to his feet, towering over her, "I can still fight."

"I need you to save your strength for a mission you're going to run after we return," she stated bluntly, not backing down.

Wheeljack relaxed back with a smirk, crossing his arms. These Earth women were rather impressive, at least Elita and Miko, and with how stubborn this one in front of him was she could give Kup a run for his money. "Fine by me."

"Good," she turned to face Kup and Jazz, "You two are with me. I don't think Smokescreen and I can carry Optimus and provide fire cover if it's needed. In and out as quickly as possible. Let's go."

Kup followed without a word, but Jazz pulled Wheeljack aside. "What's her story?" he asked his friend.

Wheeljack watched Elita and Kup walk out of the infirmary door. "She was also kidnapped by M.E.C.H. and ended up trapped in one of their twisted experiments. A dose of whatever Vector Sigma did to her and now she's a mix of Cybertonian and Human."

"Freaky," was all that Jazz could think to say.

**Author's Note: I don't own the show.**


	5. Chapter 5

From the Ashes – Ch 5

_[Location: The Dauntless]_

As the group filed into the room that Kup had built his ground bridge in, the Wrecker founder marched over to a wall full of shelves, adjusting the detonator in his mouth as he began to pull what he wanted from them. Elita made her way over to the controls with Wheeljack, relaying the coordinates that they should arrive at. In all of her time at the base she had memorized every nook and cranny as she cleaned and repaired the areas the Autobots never utilized. The plan was to get as close to the launch tube as possible, drop down into it and locate their brothers-in-arms. She didn't miss the fact that Jazz was staring at her as the white and blue bot passed, so she watched him out of the corner of her eye as he joined Kup in gathering what they would need.

When the pair joined them at the control panel she looked up from the station. "We get in, find them, get out." When the old rust scarred bot handed her three dark silver disk-like devices she simply looked at them as she took them in hand. "What's this?"

"Energon dampener," he replied, "its how I kept myself under the radar this whole time."

Placing one on her side and storing the other two in her left shoulder compartment, Elita nodded, "Let's go."

Wheeljack pulled the lever, activating the ground bridge, and watched as Elita ran through the portal first, followed closely by Kup and Jazz. After they disappeared he shut it down and settled in to wait, pulling out his swords to sharpen in the lull.

_[Location: The ruins of the Autobot base]_

The ground bridge portal opened up behind what was left of the butte that the base once resided in, its three travelers leaping out with their weapons ready before it winked shut. Looking up at sky, the current Autobot leader frowned at the dark cloud, hiding the landscape in deep shadow despite the sun setting behind them. With a quiet rush she lead the other two to the edge of the butte, peeked around the corner at the spire in the distance, its top vanishing into the clouds above, and lead the charge into the still smoldering ruins.

Kup and Jazz kept right on her heels, stopping as she knelt down to pull away support girders that had fallen across the launch tube. With a jerk of his head towards her Kup silently ordered Jazz to assist as he kept his weapons trained towards the spire. As they pulled enough away for the trio to make it down Elita lit a flare before letting it drop into the opening, watching for it to land, "Fortunately they removed its previous 'occupant' before abandoning the base."

"You first," Kup ordered, "You're smaller."

Giving a curt nod, Elita slowly climbed into the missile tube, pressing her hands and feet to the sides as she began to shimmy her way down. Jazz joined her after she had cleared enough room while Kup followed up behind them both, pulling a sheet of scrap metal over to cover the opening.

Smokescreen heard the scraping of metal first and rushed up to peek around a pile of smoldering scrap metal. The last thing he saw before the scrap metal fell over the opening was a scarred white bot; whoever it was was heading down into the tunnels below and straight towards Optimus. Turning the Phase Shifter on, the Elite Guardsman frowned before descending into the rocks below.

_[Location: North-Eastern Utah, Interstate 90]_

Miko quickly scrambled back into her seat, giving a sigh of relief as Bulkhead began to move again. She had done a quick shopping trip at one of the large chain stores to buy food, drinks, and a change of clothing but they really didn't have much that she really wanted to wear.

"You ok?" Bulkhead asked as he drove past the town's farewell sign, the setting sun to their right.

His passenger mumbled something as she wiggled her way into the back seat to dig through the bags in the very back. "After spending so much time in Japan I never thought that crowds would bother me so much. Guess I got too use to Jasper's sparse pop, ya know?"

"I guess so," the Autobot replied. "Get you anything good?"

"Good? Ooooh yeah!" she replied as she set a shopping bag of goodies in the driver's seat along with a couple of two liters of soda, "Now good for me is questionable."

Bulkhead chuckled a bit; glad that she was in a better mood, "Just don't make yourself sick."

With a fresh change of clothing on Miko plopped herself back into the passenger seat again, looking through the contents of her little pouch friends on her belt. As she pulled out the debit card she gave a thoughtful frown as she looked at the name. Elita had put their names on their cards so that there wouldn't be any questions when they used it, but it also had the account holder's name on it. "Hey, Bulk?"

"Yeah?" the vehicle replied, the icon on his steering wheel flashing as he spoke.

"Remember when E vanished into that other reality and Ratch just went crazy till we got her back?"

Giving a half laugh, Bulkhead continued to follow the road as well as the conversation inside of his cab. "Who could forget? I think he drove us crazy until he got her back."

"Yeah, I heard that men do that for the women they really really like," Miko mumbled as she ran her fingers over the embossed letters on the card. "I had asked E about it after we got home, ya know letting her know about Ratchet's feelings 'n all…"

"I bet that went over real well," Bulkhead replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, well," Miko rolled her eyes a bit as she shook her head, "she just told me that she wasn't ready for a relationship like that."

"Sounds rather reasonable to me," the Wrecker replied, "hard to focus on stuff like that when were always fighting."

"Well, I don't think she was being completely honest with me," the human member of the Wreckers told her friend quietly, "I think she likes someone else."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because of the name she put on her bank account."

Bulkhead drove along for a while as night began to settle in, trying to make sense of what Miko was telling him but it was rather difficult when he didn't have all the information. "What's the name?" he finally asked.

"Ariel Burns."

"Oh…"

_[Location: Nebraska, Interstate 70, Highway Truck Stop]_

Jack and Arcee waited under a covered area of a highway gas station as more jets flew overhead. Thanks to the night sky it was hard to tell if they were Decepticons or United States Military but they didn't want to risk it. They had to travel slowly since the alert sent to Jack's phone that morning, pulling off to the side of the road any time Arcee detected any incoming threat. Six times they were able to dodge Vehicon jets, but she wasn't sure how much longer their luck would hold out. Thanks to Jack's quick thinking of stopping by an army surplus store and buying a foliage camouflage tarp that help keep them from being spotted along uninhabited areas of the highway. Any threat had the pair taking off to the side of the road and Jack draping the covering over them as quickly as he possibly could as they waited for the aircraft to pass. It had been working so far, but Arcee wasn't sure how much longer their luck would hold out.

Using the opportunity to stretch his legs and get a bit of hot food in him, Jack looked at his phone as he sat on a bit of sidewalk next to his Autobot guardian. He was caught between wanting to call his mother and throwing the thing on the ground hard enough to smash it. With a sigh he shoved the thing back into his back pocket after gaining his feet. With his helmet in place Jack retook his seat on Arcee before she pulled free of their cover.

Once away from the prying eyes and ears of other humans Arcee spoke up. "I'm sure she's fine, Jack. Agent Fowler probably picked her up himself and is keeping her safe."

"I know," he sighed, "it's just… knowing Mom she probably headed towards the base when she couldn't get a hold of me. With the firefight that happened she'd have no way of protecting herself and could have gotten seriously injured or worse."

"Stop worrying about the worst and hope for the best," she reminded him gently. "It narrows your focus away from what needs it the most."

"Right," he nodded to himself, "get to Agent Fowler's base and get back with the others."

_[Location: North-Eastern Utah, Interstate 90]_

Rafael yawned and stretched after he climbed out of Bumblebee. Putting his glasses back on after he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes he looked up at the fast food restaurant his Autobot guardian had picked. It had only been going on two days now, but the young man was getting pretty sick of fast food. Shrugging it off, Rafael began to walk towards the building as the door shut behind him. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Bee." Both knew that Bumblebee wouldn't reply to keep from drawing attention, but it made them both feel better despite the situation.

After a quick trip to the bathroom and ordering his food, the young man looked around at the oddly decorated venue as he waited for his order. With his back turned to the main entrance, he was rather surprised when a familiar voice pulled him from his tired stupor over what drink he should pick from the fountain machine.

Standing there with her hands on her hips, Miko was looking at the overhead menu as she vocally thought over her options. His jaw dropped, not hearing the lady behind the counter read out his order number as he focused on his dear friend. "Miko!"

Surprised, the young lady turned at the voice calling to her. A supernova would have seemed dim compared to how brightly she lit up as they ran over to each other, Miko scooping Rafael up in her arms in a bear hug.

"Oh my gosh! You're safe! I'm so glad to see you!" her words ran together due to her excitement.

Giving a happy laugh as he pushed his glasses back up onto his nose, Rafael could only smile. "I'm glad to see you, too."

Turning to the gentleman behind the register Miko quickly placed her order as Rafael took his from the woman who had been smiling happily at the pair's apparent reunion. With their orders in hand the pair walked out of the front door to look for their rides. It was then that Rafael realized that he had no idea what Bumblebee had changed his colors to.

Bulkhead had pulled forward first, honking his horn in excitement, and was quickly followed by a gold colored sports car, which stopped right beside the green SUV. Both Miko and Rafael's jaws dropped as they took in the color.

"What happened to Bee?!" Miko broke the silence.

"Bee?" Bulkhead asked, adjusting his mirrors to look his friend over.

Despite it being so late, there were other patrons around, most of which were looking at Bumblebee's new paint job. Rafael cleared his throat slightly. "Maybe we should take this elsewhere."

"Great idea," Miko said as Bulkhead opened her door for her. "We'll follow you."

"Sounds great," her friend replied as he ran around the front of Bulkhead, giving his hood a gentle pat of appreciation that made the Wrecker smile to himself, before getting into the gawdy colored sports car. "Let's go."

[Will do,] Bumblebee replied with clicks and beeps, pulling into the lead and out onto the road.

About fifty miles outside of town, and well away from any houses that lived on the outskirt, the four friends were chatting in the moonlight, the kids sipping what was left of their drinks as they sat with the doors open to the Autobots they were in.

"What made you change your color, Bee?" Bulkhead asked, trying not to laugh at the idea of his friend's… lack of better judgment.

[I knew we'd be on a lot of open road so I decided that it would be best if I give myself a make-over,] Bumblebee replied, waiting patiently for Rafael to translate for Miko. [I doubt that the 'Cons would be expecting an over-the-top look like this.]

"Well, personally I've seen worse," she replied, pouring more soda into her cup. "We can just start calling you Goldbug." Bumblebee whirled quietly, slightly depressed over the reaction. "But seriously, Bee, you might want to change into something different. The 'Cons might not realize it's you, but if you go driving through the wrong area of a town or somethin' and it could get you shot at or pulled over by the cops."

Giving a surprised beep, Bumblebee suddenly realized that he inadvertently put Rafael in danger. They had been fortunate so far, but it only took once and once could be one time too many.

"We can reverse your coloring, right Bee?" Rafael asked quietly.

[Sure,] he replied, [just a bit of code tweaking and it should work perfectly. I don't know why I didn't think of that.]

"Have you heard from the others?" Bulkhead asked as the kids got out to walk a bit while Bumblebee shifted through his codes.

"I was actually tracking Miko and Jack with the debit cards they were using," Rafael said as he pushed his glasses back up.

"So Jack and Arcee are good?" Miko asked, her excitement ratcheting up again.

The young man nodded, "Heading this way, I guess to Agent Fowler's base."

"We're rendezvousing with Wheeljack," Bulkhead told them, "You two are coming with."

"Yeah!" Miko did her little happy dance, "with Ralf tracking Jack we can find them in no time."

"What about the others?" Rafael inquired.

"Maybe Jackie will have something on his ship that can help," Bulkhead answered, his tone hopeful.

"If not then we can maybe use the Harbinger," Rafael offered hopefully.

"Usin' the 'Con's own ship under their noses?" Miko asked mischievously, "That would be sick!"

[Well, what do you think?] Bumblebee asked after they had been quiet for a while.

The kids focused back on the sports car, both with wide smiles. It wasn't exactly what Rafael had in mind when he asked his friend if he could reverse his colors, but the Decepticons wouldn't be looking for that style either. The Autobot scout had switched his original color pattern around, giving him a mostly black design with yellow stripes.

"Simple, yet tastefully done," Miko complemented with a huge thumbs up.

"Great," Bulkhead revved his engine, "Let's get going. It's only a few more miles from here and you two can get some sleep while we drive."

With a bounce of excitement, Miko hugged Rafael again before they climbed into their respected rides and headed back to the road. Hopefully they would be able to get the whole band back together soon.

_[Location: Under the ruins of the Autobot base]_

The trip down to the lower tunnels took longer than Elita really wished for it to, but it gave her some hope that with how deep they were that it was what was causing the signal loss. Stepping on what little remained of the flare she had tossed down Elita turned on her headlight, which illuminated the area from her left hip. It was still covered in the old metal plating, but there was a venting tunnel that stretched out before her. The sound of two heavy stomps signaled that Jazz and Kup had joined her.

"This way," she mumbled, her rifle out and ready as they carefully moved through the area.

Their footsteps echoed through the cavern, making any hope for a silent approach void. They each carefully swept the area as they made their way, leery of an ambush. The trio suddenly paused as they all heard a slight energy wave sound behind them, but before they could turn around Elita heard a familiar voice in the dark.

"Don't move," Smokescreen ordered, his guns out and aimed at the three figures cast in the shadow from their headlights. The one with the red glowing dot near its head was the easiest target to aim for so that was what he chose to do.

Elita turned around, shining her light on the Elite Guardsman, "Smokescreen, stand down. It's me."

"E?!" Relief filled his frame as he lowered his weapons, "What about these two?"

"Jazz, Kup, this is Smokescreen. Smoke, Jazz and Kup," she quickly introduced.

As much as he wanted to melt at just the opportunity to meet two more legends, there was a much more pressing matter. "I'm glad you found us. Optimus needs help now."

"Take us to him," Elita ordered and quickly followed the kid down the tunnels.

The fact that Optimus was groaning was a good sign, but with how bad he was looking, they all were surprised that he was even functional at all. Kneeling down next to him, Elita began to check over his wounds as Jazz provided her light.

"E…lita…" Prime gasped out as he forced his optics open.

"I'm right here, Optimus," she said gently, "We're getting you out of here." Turning to look up at the red dot that was Kup's detonator, she inquired, "Can your ground bridge reach down here?"

"Do Quintessons have five faces?"

Before she even had a chance to answer Kup was talking to Wheeljack and the ground bridge portal opened up before them. Each grabbed one of Optimus' appendages and quickly carried their injured leader through the portal. There was no time to waste.

**Author's Note: I don't own the show. Thanks for reading!**

Tex MECHs: Yeah, so we're still in the early parts. We don't have to wrap up in 13 episodes.


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